Once Upon A Love
by brunettedudette
Summary: Troy likes Sharpay. Sharpay likes Troy. What's the problem? Gabriella likes Troy too, and hates Sharpay. She will do whatever she can to make Sharpay think that she and Troy are dating, leaving Sharpay heartbroken. The story is better than the summary.
1. Intro

**Once Upon A Love**

_A Troypay Story_

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical. :( But I do own the plot. :).

A/N: This is my first fanfic ever... just thought you might want to know.

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((Sharpay's POV)) 

"_**You know the world can see us, in a way that's different than who we are."**_

And then he kissed her.

After Mrs. Darbus had agreed for Troy and Gabriella to do a last minute callback, I quickly went to change. I wanted to hear and see if Troy and Gabriella were really as good as what everybody thought. Secretly, I hoped Troy would get the role of Arnold. He would have been much more fun for me to perform with than Ryan. But I despised Gabriella. There was no way she was stealing my lead role.

I came out of the changing room just to see them finish. And to see Troy kissing Gabriella… which made me fuming with jealousy.

((Troy's POV))

After I kissed Gabby, I smiled at her, not because I really meant the kiss, but to show her that I had fun performing with her. I kissed her, because I knew that would help us get the role, and I knew how much she wanted this role. But in the back of my mind, when I kissed her, I felt that something just wasn't right.

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A/N: Sorry it was so short… I just wanted to make sure people actually like the beginning of my story in order to keep going. So I guess you could call this a test run. I will continue if I get at least three good reviews. 

A/N#2: FLAMES GREATLY APPRECIATED. It's not that I like being criticized; I would just like to know if my writing isn't good.


	2. The First Offense

**Once Upon A Love**

_A Troypay Story_

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical. :( But I do own the plot. :).

* * *

A Note To My Reviewers: 

Jenny1991- Is it my fault criticism helps me write better? Lol.

Grey'sAnatomy-HSM-Troypay-4EV- If you had read the author's note at the end, you would have known that the last chapter was only short because it was a test run.

xamyxjx- Thank you so much… why was it all capitals though?

ascii27- Thank you, and I promise the next chapters will be longer.

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((Gabriella's POV)) 

The next day at lunch, well, actually the next school day at lunch, we (Chad, Jason, Kelsi, Ryan, Sharpay, Taylor, Troy, and me) were sitting together. I noticed that Sharpay and Troy were deep in conversation, so I grabbed onto his hand. Why did I do that? Simple. I hate Sharpay, and there is no way she is stealing my man. Well, technically, he's not _my_ man, but she's not going to steal my chances. Friday night after the callback, Troy told me that he didn't mean the kiss, but Sharpay doesn't know that. She thinks he likes me, and if I have anything to do with it, he will like me by the end of this month.

((Sharpay's POV))

Troy and I were simply talking about American Idol (he thinks I would do great on it squeals) when suddenly Gabriella took his hand and said, "So Troy, when are we practicing the _play_?"

She put emphasis on the word 'play' as if bragging to me that she was in the play and I wasn't. "Um, I guess the four of us can come practice at my house tomorrow afternoon," he said.

"Four?" asked Gabriella, "What do you mean by four? There are only two of us, Troy."

"Well, since Ryan and Sharpay are our understudies, I was thinking they could practice with us. Even if they don't get a chance to perform on stage, they could still make excellent acting coaches during practice," Troy told her.

After he said this he smiled at me. I could feel my heart swell up like a balloon. "But Troy, I thought we were going to do it just you and me. Alone."

And then it deflated. Gabriella said this all in a flirty tone, but the word 'alone' she said harshly, looking at me. The icy stare that usually inhabited my eyes could now be seen in hers. I could feel the tears start to come. I said, "Excuse me," and started to run to the bathroom to cry in peace.

I heard someone call my name, and then footsteps coming after me, but I didn't stop until I was safely in the bathroom stall and could let the tears flow freely.

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A/N: I will continue if I get at least three good reviews. 

A/N#2: Feel free to suggest ideas for the plot.


	3. A Threat in the Bathroom

**Once Upon A Love**

_A Troypay Story_

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical. :( But I do own the plot. :).

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A Note To My Reviewers:

xamyxjx- I sorta already have the plot planned, but I'll try to work your idea into it.

hsmxzashley- I'll try my hardest to make the chapters longer… for some reason it doesn't work for me. I can only do short chapters… but I'll try.

Zoey24-: P Troypay rules! Lol.

Elm-Tree10- I'll try to add Ryan+Sharpay sibling moments, but I already promised my sister to have Kelsi w/ Jason. I hate Gabriella too. Lol.

Grey'sAnatomy-HSM-Troypay-4EV- Don't worry, you didn't offend me. It was a good review, IMO.

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A/N: I just realized that if you put Troy and Ashley together, instead of Troy and Sharpay, or Zac and Ashley, you get Trashley. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. cue cricket chirping ha…ha…ha? Or not. Anyway, ON WITH THE STORY!

((Troy's POV))

That was weird. I can't believe Sharpay ran off like that. But then again, Gabby was being awfully, well, I hate to say this, **_Sharpayish._** I was getting to know Sharpay better, and was finding out that she was actually really nice. Some how talking about her as the "Ice Queen" just didn't seem right anymore. "Sharpay!" I called after her, but she kept walking.

I got up to go after her, but Ryan stood and stopped me. "I'll go," he said.

Gabby pulled me down by my hand, which she was still holding, and smirked. I think I imagined that last part, or at least, I hope. I'm not one to imagine things, and I really don't want Gabby to turn out, ugh, I can't believe I'm saying this again, **_Sharpayish. _**A while later, Ryan came back with an odd look on his face. "She's in the bathroom."

"Crying?" asked Kelsi.

"I think so," said Ryan.

"So what's wrong?" asked Chad.

"I told you already. She's in the bathroom. I can't talk to her," said Ryan, sounding slightly annoyed.

"What's wrong with that? Why couldn't you talk to her?" asked Chad.

Taylor smacked his head. "Umm… duh," she said, "Sharpay's in the _GIRL'S _bathroom."

"Oh, right."

"So, who volunteers, out of the girls, to go talk to Sharpay?"

That was the question I was dreading. I looked around, and all the girls were hesitating. I sighed. Obviously, the girls still thought of Sharpay as the "Ice Queen", and were afraid to go. After the conversation I had with her, she didn't really seem that bad. In fact… she was really nice. I think I might be starting to have a cru- no, wait. TROY! Stop thinking this way! You're supposed to end up with Gabby!

((Gabriella's POV))

This was my chance. "I'll go check on Sharpay," I said in the sweetest voice I could.

A thank-you came from everywhere around the table, and Taylor and Kelsi even sounded relieved. I went to the closest bathroom, and indeed, I heard crying. "Sharpay?" I asked, trying to sound like I cared.

"Gabriella?"

Sharpay sounded confused. Like she had no idea why I would come to try and comfort her. After all, I was the cause of her problems (and proud of it). "Listen, we need to talk," I told her as calmly and nicely as possible.

"No, we don't," she replied, "I'll be fine. Now go away."

Excuse me? I beat her out for the lead role in the musical, and she has the nerve to simply dismiss _moi_? "I don't care whether you'll be fine, or not. We still have to talk," I said a bit harsher.

"No," she said.

Simply no. Well, that was it. I was going to have to take drastic measures. "Sharpay Evans! Listen to me! If you don't come out here right this second, I'm going to tell a certain Mr. Bolton that you hate him and never want to see him or talk to him ever again." I whispered fiercely.

I could hear her gasp from inside the stall. The door opened, and I saw a Sharpay that I have never seen before. Imperfect makeup, messy hair, basically, she looked like a tornado hit her. I could tell she really, really, liked Troy. Too bad. She glared at me. "What do you want?"

I summoned my threatening voice again (A/N: The one she used for her "drastic measures."), and said, "You are not to go anywhere near Troy Bolton. You may not talk to him, look at him, or even smell him. He is going to be mine, and you are not getting in my way. Got that?"

Now Sharpay looked like a tornado hit her, as well as looking like she saw another one coming. "Yes, Gabriella," she said so meekly I never thought it was possible.

"Good," I said, and walked back to the cafeteria, not wanting to waste more quality Troy time with this bh.

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A/N: I will continue if I get at least three good reviews.

A/N#2: Wow. I can't believe it. This chapter is actually long(ish).


	4. Everybody Do the Flop 'N' Sigh

**Once Upon A Love**

_A Troypay Story_

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical. :(. But I do own the plot. :).

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A Note To My Reviewers: 

xamyxjx- Here ya go. Another chapter. Yay.

hsmxzashley- You're welcome. And I totally agree with you about Gabriella.

AlwaysxAddicted- You're right. From what she says the movie it is hard imagine Gabriella like that, but you never know what she might be thinking and I think this is what she thinks in her "huge" mind.

Elm-Tree10- OK… look for your idea in this chapter. I'll add it… and a Ryan + Sharpay moment.

troypayrocks- Oh, don't worry. Gabriella definitely has a slap coming her way.

Chesom549- Um, hello? Have you forgotten that Sharpay is an _actress_?

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A/N: Sorry I didn't update for a long time. I was busy with Passover and stuff and then I got GROUNDED… so then I couldn't update even if I had time. 

((Gabriella's POV))

When I got home from school, I flopped onto my bed and sighed. My life was going perfectly. I was getting to be better than Sharpay at everything. I was getting her lead roles, I was getting her popularity, but most importantly, I was getting "her" Troy. It was so easy getting Sharpay to agree to my threats, like taking candy from a baby. (A/N: I am so against that phrase. One time I tried taking candy from my baby sister; and let me tell you, HUGE MISTAKE. It was harder than going through a balloon factory with a porcupine purse. And yes, that's from Hannah Montana.) I imagined Sharpay tougher. Not such a crybaby. Oh, well. It's easier for me this way. And once the whole school knows what a crybaby she really is, it will be even easier. I jumped off my bed. "Mom?" I shouted downstairs.

"Yes, sweetie?"

There was no reason to shout. My mom was actually right outside the door. I hope I didn't think out loud. "You were right. Moving here was for the best," said, and smiled.

"I'm glad you think so," she smiled back, coming over to hug me.

And I couldn't help but think: If she knew the real reason behind my happiness, she wouldn't be glad at all. Oh, well. Too bad for her.

((Sharpay's POV))

When I got home from school, I flopped onto my bed and sighed. My life was going perfectly. Gabriella is such a dork. When we were in the bathroom at lunch, she didn't suspect a thing. Seriously, why would I listen to some stupid little threat from her. I mean, what can she do to me any way? So any way, she now actually thinks I'm afraid of her, and that gives me the advantage of a surprise attack. Oh, this is gonna be good. I knocked on the door that connects my room to Ryan's. "Ryan, you there?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said.

I opened the door to his room and saw him at his desk, scribbling furiously. "Uh, what are you doing?" I asked.

As far as I know, Ryan never "scribbles furiously". He looked up at me sheepishly. "Swear not to tell mom and dad?" He crossed his arms and held his pinkies up.

"Duh!" I said and did the same.

We interlocked pinkies. This may be weird to an outsider, but to Ryan and me, it was like going to school, or even like breathing. We called it our Twin Promise Pact. Ryan took a deep breath before saying, "I had a huge assignment that was due today, but I forgot to do it. The teacher said that because I'm dyslexic, I can have an extra day, so now I have to do it really fast."

And now I was confused. Mom and dad knew that Ryan was dyslexic, so why would they not be okay with him having an extra day to do a project. I rolled my eyes. "So why can't I tell mom and dad that you have an extra day? After all, it's very common for dyslexic people to have longer time to work on school assignments."

Ryan sighed and looked at me for a long time. "You know mom's dyslexic too, right?" he said finally.

I nodded, and he kept going. "Well, she's never sympathetic. She got perfect grades in school, so she says, 'Ryan, you can't let the dyslexia affect you. I managed perfectly fine, so why shouldn't you?' I really don't like having to deal with that all the time."

I nodded again. I now understood. But we were off topic. "Any way, Ryan," I said, "That's not the reason I came in to talk to you. I need to talk to you about a certain b---h you know as Gabriella."

Ryan looked shocked. "Shar, why would you call Gabby that? I mean, she was so nice today when she volunteered to run after you."

I stared at him hard. "Ryan! When Gabriella ran after me at lunch, it was only to threaten me. She told me not to go anywhere near Troy."

Ryan was not only shocked now, but confused as well. "But why would Gabby do such a thing?! I mean, she seemed so nice to me, and Chad, and Jason, and Kelsi, and Taylor, and Troy. She wouldn't threaten anyone."

I couldn't believe him. That math freak stupid self obsessed a-- hole was getting to his head! (A/N: Thank you, hsmxzashley for that lovely description of Gabriella you put in your review.) "Ryan!" I shouted again, "Are you seriously choosing sweet, little, innocent, Gabriella Montez over evil, "Ice Queen", Sharpay Evans, A.K.A YOUR TWIN SISTER??????????????????????"

That did it. All traces of confusion and shock were immediately replaced by anger. "You're right, Sharpay. I should have believed you. It's just that Gabriella doesn't seem like the type of person who would do such a thing," Ryan tried to reason with me, "But any way, are you going to do any thing about it?"

"Duh!" I cried, "I just don't know what."

We sat in silence for five minutes, when Ryan suddenly yelled, "I got it!"

I sat up (I was laying down on his bed) and grinned widely. "Oh my gosh, thank you, thank you, thank you! So what is it?"

He came over and whispered it in my ear, even though no one was in the room except for us. "That's a great idea!" I cried and went back into my room, feeling like I was on top of the world.

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A/N: You know the drill, three good reviews equal an update. 

A/N#2: Hope you enjoyed!


	5. Car Plays Cupid

**Once Upon A Love**

_A Troypay Story_

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical.  But I do own the plot. .

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A Note To My Reviewers:

xamyxjx- AGAIN WITH THE CAPS LOCK ON? Lol. Thx anyway.

hsmxzashley- Psshhfft…… like Sharpay would ever be afraid of Gabriella. Lol.

Chesom549- Yep, she was… anyway, thank you so much! I think that was the best review I've ever gotten.

angeloves1- Thank you…

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A/N: If I can ask you to do me a favor… would you please R&R my sister, LovesNature's stories? She's a bit depressed, because nobody is reviewing her stories.

((Troy's POV))

_**BEEP, BEEP, BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!**_

I rolled over and pressed the snooze button. I was so not in the mood to wake up. I had the feeling that today was going to be totally drama filled because of what happened yesterday at lunch. I didn't know how right I was. "Troy, either it was my imagination, or your alarm clock already went off," came the sound of my mom at the door.

I sighed. "It wasn't your imagination," I admitted.

"Ok, then get your lazy butt out of bed. There's school today."

I sighed once again. "Alright," I said and sat up, "I'm up, now would you leave me to do my things alone?"

My mom went downstairs, to the kitchen I guess, and I got out of bed. I yawned and stretched, then went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. When I got downstairs to the kitchen, I was surprised to not see my dad sitting in his usual spot. "Where's dad?" I asked

"He left already. He had to do something at the school," said my mom, as she handed me a bowl of cereal, "Now eat this fast, or you'll be late."

I ate the cereal, grabbed my backpack, and yelled goodbye to my mom. I can only seriously think when I'm by myself, so in the car without my dad was a great time to think about all of the things that have happened ever since New Year's Eve. I figured I had it bad. Every body expected Gabby and me to be a fairy tale couple. We met while singing a duet, then she coincidentally transferred to my school, and together we beat the "bad guys" to get the lead roles in the musical, and now we were supposed to get together and live happily ever after. But there are two problems with our fairy tale story:

I don't like Gabby in "that way."

In this case, the "bad guys" aren't really bad, at least the "bad girl." She's actually a hot girl. And to prove to every one that this story won't have a fairy tale ending, I'm going to ask Sharpay to the Opening Night After Party. Yeah, that's what I'm gonna do.

Oh, who am I kidding! I'll never be good enough for her, and actually, this will just create more drama. But I really love her. In fact, I love her so much that I'm hallucinating. I think I see her over on the side of the road doing something to her pink Mustang… wait a minute! That is her!

((Sharpay's POV))

"Sharpay!" I heard someone call my name, but I thought I was imagining it.

Suddenly everything went black. "Guess who?" Ok, so apparently I wasn't imagining. The voice obviously belonged to a guy… but his hands weren't dark like Zeke's or Chad's would have been. And Jason was still afraid of me, and Ryan was home sick. So it had to be Troy. I laughed to myself silently as I asked, "Hmmm? Mrs. Darbus, is that you?"

It worked. With a very loud, "Eeewww!" the hands were off my face.

I now allowed myself to laugh out loud. "Just kidding, Troy. I knew it was you."

I turned to face him and saw a smile creeping onto his face. Actually, it was more of an evil grin. "Well, for that," he said, "you get this!"

And then I was attacked by Troy the tickle boy. A minute later I gasped out between laughs, "Stop! No more! Please, Troy! I'm begging you!"

"Beg, you say?" asked Troy, and stopped tickling me, "Now, tell me why you are out here with your car, when you should be at school?" he looked around, "And where's Ryan?"

"At home. He's sick. Threw up all night last night… so where's your dad? Doesn't he come to school with you? I see you coming out of the same car sometimes in the mornings."

"Oh, him. He's already at school. Had something he had to do."

Troy scratched the back of his neck. There was an awkward silence before I said, "So it's just you and me."

"Yeah," Troy nodded, "What's up with your car? It looked like you were trying to fix something before I sneaked up on you."

"Oh, my car always gets worked up like this," I reassured him, "Usually Ryan fixes it in about a minute, but today he's not here, and fixing the car isn't as easy as it looks. I've been trying to fix it for about half an hour now."

Troy looked shocked. "Why were you even here half an hour ago?" he asked

"Drama club meeting. I guess I missed it by now," I told him and sighed.

Troy laughed as looked at his watch and said, "Never mind the drama club meeting. We_ both_ missed homeroom by now."

I giggled, too. "Well, let's call the tow truck company, and when they get here they can take your car, and you can come with me to school," offered Troy.

"Alright," I said, and pulled out my Sidekick.

The person who picked up said that they would have someone there in fifteen minutes. When I told Troy that he groaned. "In fifteen more minutes, plus the time it'll take us to get to school, we'll get to school only after first period!"

"So I should transfer all my things to your car," I said, and got my purse out of my car.

Troy helped me get all my things into his car, and we sat in silence until the tow truck came. The drive was silent as well, until Troy asked, "So there's gonna be an after party for the opening night of the play, right?"

"Of course!" I giggled, "There always is."

"So are you on the invite list?" he asked.

"Well, I don't know yet, since the list isn't gonna be posted for a while, but probably, seeing as how I am co-captain of the drama club, and the understudy for Gabriella."

"Well, is whoever is on the list allowed to bring somebody?"

"Troy," I sighed, "Why are you asking me? Gabriella is going to be on the list any way. She's practically the star of the show! She is the star of the show!"

"Well, what if I want to ask someone else?" he asked.

I heard nervousness in his voice. "Well, then yes," I said matter-of-factly.

"S-so, uh, wi-w-will y-y-y-y-yo," he started to say.

OMG! HE'S GOING TO ASK ME! (I HOPE) YAY! "Oh, spit it out, boy!" I interrupted him.

"Willyougowithme?" Troy asked, in one breath.

Just then, we got to the parking lot. Troy parked and looked at me expectantly. I smiled. "Of course, Troy. Now let's get out of here and into the school before we'll be late for second period."

He sighed a sigh of relief, and went around the car to open my door for me. "What a gentleman you are, Mrs. Darbus," I said, teasing him again.

He pouted, then grinned wickedly, and tickled me until we heard the bell ring from inside the school. We both ran inside, still laughing hard. Then, I crashed into someone, and my purse went flying to the floor.

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A/N: I will continue if I get at least three good reviews, not including those from my sister.

A/N#2: Sorry I haven't been updating. I have a hectic school schedule, but I promise that I will update ten times faster during summer vacation.


	6. Troy Saves the Day Again

**Once Upon A Love**

_A Troypay Story_

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical. :( But I do own the plot. :).

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A Note To My Reviewers:

xamyxjx- Right………

hsmxzashley- You'll see. ;)

Chesom549- You must be a mind reader or something… lol.

ascii27- I actually got the stomach flu idea from my sister. She spent the entire night with a bucket by her bed the night before I wrote this.

Evans Mary- Yay!!! Troypay power 4 eva!

YagottaluvHSM- Unfortunately I cannot tell you whether or not Zac and Vanessa are dating, because I live somewhere where very few people have heard of High School Musical… but I hope they aren't!

Rachel452- Thanks.

Unlove You- LOLROTFLMAO! Totally!

marri- Yeah… only 14 more days of school for me. I get out on June 20. And btw, thanks for reviewing my sister's story.

disneyme- Yeah, I don't really care about Troy, though. I'm just making him like Sharpay for the sake of frustrating Gabriella.

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A/N: OMG! I can't believe that HSM 2 might be a Troypay! It sounds so unbelievable!

((Sharpay's POV))

I looked up and saw Gabriella standing above me. She sneered at me and said, "Hello, Sharpay."

I smiled weakly and got up, remembering mine and Ryan's plan. "Sorry, Gabby," I said meekly.

I turned started to go to pick up my purse, which was still on the floor. I took half a step, and then Gabriella's hand shot out and blocked my way. "Allow me," she said "sweetly", and then smiled the fakest smile I ever saw.

I laughed silently to myself, not believing that Gabriella, probably one of the worst actresses in the world, got my role. She got my bag, and came back to where I was standing, but didn't give it to me. "Well, Troy, Sharpay and I have to get to class, see you at lunch!" she said, in a tone that I think she thought was flirty.

Gabriella and I both had math next, and Troy had literature. "Bye, Shar," he said, smiling, and completely ignoring Gabriella.

I smiled back. "Bye, Troy."

Gabriella and I started walking toward the math classroom, but as soon as we turned the corner, and Troy couldn't see us anymore, she pulled me into the nearest janitors' closet. "What was that about?" she asked.

"We-e-ell, y-you see, m-m-my ca-ar br-rok-oke dow-wn." I said, trying my hardest to sound nervous, prouder than I ever was of my acting talents, "A-and Tr-roy ju-ust so happened to-o be th-the o-one to-o find me-e. A-and—."

"I've heard enough," she said, signaling for me to stop by putting her hand up, "I know my Troy. He wouldn't have left unless you let him help you, and if he didn't leave, he wouldn't have been here for me to flirt with. I'm going to let you pass this time, Evans, but next time… you really don't want to know."

I nodded. Gabriella smiled "wickedly", and continued talking. "Now listen. I'm going to get out of the closet first, and you're going to come out a few minutes later. We don't want anybody thinking…" she shuddered, "_things_."

"Ok," I said.

Gabriella opened the door and went out, then closed it again. She's going to lock it. I know she's going to. I just know she's going lo—. _Click_. How did I know?

I sat down, but shot straight back up when I sat on something that was in my back pocket. **My Sidekick!** And I thought Gabriella was supposed to be _smart_! I dialed the first number that I could think of, which was Troy's. It rang twice, then he picked up. "Sharpay?" he hissed into the phone.

Oh, c- -p. I completely forgot that Mrs. Darbus taught literature. "Troy, listen to me. Gabriella locked me in the janitors' closet, and I don't know how to get out, and if you don't mind, you need to be my hero for the second time today, and get me out of here!" I whisper-yelled into the phone.

"Which one?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"Which closet?"

"Go to Mr. Davidson's room, face the door, turn left, then walk straight, and the closet that I'm in is the second one on the left."

"Sharpay?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"I don't know if I should believe you. First of all, Gabby would never do such a thing, and second of all, it's impossible to get cell reception in any janitors' closet."

I sighed. "Troy, you don't know as much about Gabriella as you claim you do. She's evil. And about the reception thing, nothing is impossible at this school. You should have figured it out by now, unless you're as stupid as Chad."

He couldn't help himself. He laughed. Suddenly, the laughter stopped, and I could hear talking in the background. "Sorry, Shar, busted," he said.

I sighed again. Apparently he heard it, because he told me that he'd be here soon.

((Troy's POV))

I hung up on Sharpay, and headed for the door. "Mr. Bolton, where do you think you're going?" asked Mrs. Darbus, who was my teacher that period.

I looked her straight in the eye. "Mrs. Darbus," I said, trying to sound serious, "Sharpay's stuck in a closet, and she just called me, and if you don't mind, I'm going to go save her."

Mrs. Darbus snickered. "You expect me to believe that, Bolton?" she asked.

"You could come with me, and see for yourself," I offered, hoping she would agree."

"Alright," she said, and we went to find a janitor.

It took us about five minutes to find one, and then five minutes more to find Sharpay, because Darbus was really slow on the stairs. When we finally got the closet door opened, Sharpay looked up at us, blinked twice, then smiled. She stood up. "What took you so long?" she asked.

"We had trouble finding a janitor," I told her.

We hugged for a while, then Darbus said, "So sorry to break up this little moment, but we need to get to class."

Sharpay and I separated, and Darbus said, "Oh, and before I forget, I'd like to see you in my classroom during lunch, Miss Evans."

Sharpay smiled at me, then walked to her math classroom.

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A/N: I will keep the chapters coming, if you keep the reviews coming.

A/N#2: Don't forget to R&R my sister's stories, too.


	7. The Plan Goes Into Action

**Once Upon A Love**

_A Troypay Story_

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical. :( But I do own the plot. :).

* * *

A Note To My Reviewers:

xamyxjx- Ugh. I know how you feel. Zanessa disgusts me.

Zashleymania- Thank you! You know, you're not the only one that's disturbed by Gabriella. Lol.

Chesom549- Yeah, your fabulous mind reading ability went away. Sorry.

ascii27- I seem to have a bit of a problem making my chapters long, but I'll try...

glamorous95- Here ya go, and thanks for the review.

ceruleanblues- Cute? I wouldn't really say that, but whatever.

Jenny1991- I can't believe Gabriella thinks ANYONE would be afraid of innocent little her.

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A/N: Hey, guys! Now that school's out, I can update way sooner, so as long as you keep the reviews coming, I'll do my best to update every day.

((Sharpay's POV))

_BRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING_!! The bell rang, which signaled the end of fourth period social studies, which Troy, Ryan, and I had together. Troy sat in Ryan's usual spot, and we passed notes the entire period. I gathered up my stuff, and headed for the door. Troy ran to get there before me, and opened the door for me. "Ladies first," he said with a bad British accent.

I giggled and stepped out of the classroom holding onto Troy's hand. We walked down the hall together, until we came to a spot where our paths split. I started to turn left. "Uh, Shar," said Troy, "Cafeteria's that way."

He pointed right. "Oh, but Troy, Mrs. Darbus's 'office' is that way. Did you already forget that I have a lunchtime meeting with her?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah."

It was either my imagination or he sounded disappointed. I laughed. "Don't worry, Troy, the time will go by so fast, you'll forget to miss me," I teased him.

We hugged, then I went left and he went right. When I got to the classroom, I knocked on the door. "Who's there?" I heard from inside.

"It's me, Sharpay," I said, "You wanted to see me?"

"Oh. Well, yes, Miss Evans, I wanted to see you. Come on in."

I slowly opened the door and stepped into the classroom. Mrs. Darbus was sitting at her desk, looking at a day planner. "Yes?" I asked.

"Miss Evans, now that the cast list has been posted, we can start rehearsals for the play. Since you and your brother are captains of the drama club, you have to decide what days and what times we will have the rehearsals," she told me.

I already knew all this. It's the exact same "speech" she gives us, Ryan and me, before every production. I nodded, and Mrs. Darbus kept talking. "Do you two have anytime in mind yet?"

I grinned. We did, thanks to Ryan and his ingenious idea. I smirked. "Actually, Mrs. Darbus," I started, "we do."

I paused for dramatic effect. Mrs. Darbus raised her eyebrows, and I took that as my cue to continue. "We were thinking Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at lunch, Tuesdays and Thursdays during free period, and everyday after school."

I waited. If Mrs. Darbus said yes, the plan goes into action. If she said no, it's time for plan B… that doesn't really exist yet. On even days at lunch, Gabriella has Scholastic Decathlon meetings. On odd days during free periods, Troy has basketball practice. Last but not least, they both have other commitments after school everyday. They would never have the chance to go to rehearsals together. Mrs. Darbus looked at her day planner. "I guess that's ok…" she said.

I silently screamed of joy, but I managed to stay calm on the outside. "Great, Mrs. Darbus. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go get lunch," I said, and went to the cafeteria.

((Troy's POV))

I sat down at our regular table at the cafeteria, and waited for everyone to get there. When everybody finally came, I told Jason, Zeke, and Chad that I needed to talk to them privately. "How come you can't let us in on whatever the secret is, too?" Gabriella asked, and did the puppy dog pout.

I smiled at her, and said gently, "Sorry, but this is a guy thing, you know…"

She nodded and us four guys made our way to my not-so-secret-anymore hideout. "So what's up, man?" Chad asked once we all sat down.

"Ok, I know this is going to be weird for you guys, but bear with me here," I said.

Jason pretended to look hurt. "Hey, man, you know you can count on us to support you with anything. If you didn't know that after the auditions thing, well, I don't know what to say."

I laughed, and then said, "I asked Sharpay to go with me to the opening night after party, and she said yes."

Their reactions were all different. Jason looked impresses and thumped my back, Zeke just looked away, and Chad said, "Wow."

There was a long silence before Zeke broke it by asking, "What about Gabby?"

"What about her?" I asked.

"Everybody in school thinks you like her after the amount of chemistry that you guy had at the audition, and everybody at school _knows_ that she likes you," Chad said, sounding shocked that I didn't know.

"Well you guys probably aren't going to believe this, but Gabriella locked Sharpay in a closet this morning," I told them.

Jason opened his mouth to say something, but the sound of Gabriella's voice stopped him. "Do you really think I would do such a thing?" she asked, while running up the steps, Kelsi and Taylor at her heels.

I stared at her. "A better question would be, why were you spying on us?"

"Isn't a girl allowed to spy on her boyfriend every now and then?" asked Taylor.

She batted her eyelashes, which made Chad cave in. "Of course, Pookiepie. Troy's overreacting," he said.

Jason, Zeke, and I exchanged a look. Pookiepie? "Well, do you seriously believe Sharpay over Gabby?" Kelsi asked, looking Jason in the eyes.

"I really don't see why Shar would lock herself in a closet," I answered for him.

"Can't you see Troy? Sharpay's just taking advantage of the fact that you like her. She's using you!" cried Gabriella.

"And what exactly would she be using me for?" I countered.

"I don't know," Gabriella said, "but I wouldn't put it past her to do it. That girl, as much as I hate to say it, is capable of anything. Right Taylor?"

There was no answer. "Tay?" Gabriella tried again.

We all looked over towards Taylor, who was on Chad's lap, making out with him. Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Right, Kelsi?" she asked.

Kelsi nodded. "Come with me, Kelsi, let's talk," Jason took her hand and led her down the stairs.

Zeke noticed the tension, and said, "I gotta go… bake stuff," then quickly left.

I sighed, looked at Gabriella, then at Taylor and Chad, then back at Gabriella. I thought that Taylor and Chad wouldn't stop kissing anytime soon, so it wouldn't matter if I talked to Gabriella here and now. "Gabby?" I asked gently.

She looked up at me. "Yeah?" she sniffled.

"I'm really sorry," I said, "I just don't know who to believe, and I really like Shar, and I think she really likes me too…"

"I should be the one that's sorry. I overreacted, and I think that's because I'm really really really in love with you," Gabby said, forcing a giggle.

"Well, I think you know by now that I don't feel the same way about you, but I would like it if we were just friends."

"Alright."

"Gabby?" I asked again.

"Uh-huh?"

"You alright?"

"Yeah," she said, "I'm fine."

But I could tell that she really wasn't.

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A/N: Review + review + review Equals (the stupid thing wouldn't let me put an equal sign) Update

A/N#2: Hey, I have a problem… I'm starting a new story, but I don't know what category to put it under, Hannah Montana, or High School Musical. It takes place mostly in Albuquerque, in East High, but the main character is Lilly, and there are some chapters that take place in Malibu. So if you guys could please help me decide, that would be great. Thanx in advance…


	8. The Accident

**Once Upon A Love**

_A Troypay Story_

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical. :( Or the song "Don't Matter" by Akon. :( But I do own the plot. :).

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A Note To My Reviewers: 

xamyxjx- Did I update soon enough? Lol.

disneyme- Thank you. Even though you didn't really help, you tried…

dreamer 3097- Thank you, but could you be more specific about what makes it good?

ascii27- Hey, thanks for helping me… you're the only one who did! Nice word, devious…

Jenny1991- "She is so fake, it's not even funny." I love it! Nice wording.

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A/N: Maybe my "update every day" resolution isn't working out, but I'm trying my hardest. 

((Gabriella's POV))

I can't believe it. This is unbelievable. This is so not happening.

Troy, Sharpuke and I were walking towards the school parking lot, after a "long" and "eventful" day. When we had to go our separate ways to get to our separate cars, I turned and looked at Troy and Sharpuke. I have to admit, they look really cute together. It sickens me. "Bye, Troy," I said.

He raised his eyebrows and mouthed, "And?"

"And Sharpay," I mumbled.

Troy smiled and took Sharpuke's hand. "Bye, Gabby," he said and smiled.

"Bye, Gabriella," Sharpuke giggled, looking at Troy, who wormed his arm around her waist.

I want to crush her, and feed her to my step-cousin's fiancé's Shar Pei puppies. I took a deep breath, looked at the ground, and tried my hardest to sound like a loser. "You know, Troy… and Sharpay, when I found out earlier today that you two were "together", I was really jealous, but now, I think I've gotten over it. So, best of luck to you two."

There was no reply. I looked up and saw them kissing. I loudly clapped my hands. Sharpuke pulled away from Troy, and they looked at me. "I'm sorry, Gabby. Were you, uh, saying something?" Troy asked me.

I forced a grin. "Bye," I said, and walked to my car.

While I started the engine, I couldn't help but look through the window. In the distance, well, actually, about five yards away, I saw Troy. He opened the door for Sharpuke, and she kissed his cheek as she stepped inside the car. "Disgusting," I spat, and pulled out of the parking space.

I started driving. I wasn't watching the road, because I didn't care where I ended up. All I wanted was to get somewhere quiet, somewhere where I could be alone, somewhere where I could think to myself in peace. All my life, I was the kid genius. Finally, I had a shot at becoming popular. And what did I do with it? I went and blew it, that's what. I managed to convince myself that I was cunning enough to push Sharpuke out of the spotlight, but I also managed to stoop down to her level. Now, I realize what people mean when they say, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." This is a war, which Sharpuke will not win. Suddenly, I heard a loud CRASH, and everything went **black.**

((Troy's POV))

"Ah'm sorry, ma'am, but if y'all want to git rid of this here problem y'all have wit' yer car, permanently, it's gonna hafta stay here over night."

Sharpay and I were standing in front of the man that had to fix her car. Sharpay turned and looked at me and said, "Well, if you drop me off at home today, Ryan can be my chauffer until I get my ca-"

The sound of Akon's "Don't Matter" in the air interrupted her. I took my phone out of my pocket, and looked at the caller ID. It was Gabriella. "One second," I told Shar and the man, whose name was Alfred, that I'd be right back.

I went outside to talk. "Hey," I said.

"Mr. Bolton?" asked a man's voice.

"Uh huh. Who are you?"

"Mr. Bolton, my name is Dr. Charles Bryant. A young girl, whose name according to some schoolbooks I found, is Gabriella Montez, has been in a car accident, and you are the first person listed in her phone book."

_Oh, s--t_, I thought to myself. "Is she alright? Is she going to die? Who's fault was the crash? Is she going to die?"

"Calm down, sir. I'm pretty sure she's not going to die. What I need you to do right now is come to the hospital."

"Alright, Dr. Bryant, I'm on my way." I said, and closed my phone. (A/N: No, I don't mean turned it off. I mean like when you have a flip phone, and it's open where you can see the buttons and stuff, and then you close it where you can't see the buttons and stuff.)

I ran inside and grabbed Sharpay's elbow. "Shar, listen, we have to go to the hospital. Gabby's been in a car accident."

She gasped as her hand flew up to her mouth. "Oh my gosh." she whispered.

Sharpay turned to Alfred. "I'm sorry, sir, we have to go. One of our friends is in the hospital. I'll come by tomorrow to pick up my car."

Alfred nodded. "I understand. Go visit yer little friend. Ah'll probably have yer car here fixed by tommara mornin'. Hope yer friend will be alright."

We turned and ran to my car. As soon as we were on the highway, Sharpay bombarded me with questions. "Is she going to be OK? What's wrong with her? She won't die, will she?"

"Just stay calm, Shar," I said, trying my hardest to keep my eyes on the road and stay focused, "I don't know. We have to get to the hospital, and then we'll see."

The drive to the hospital was mostly silent after that. The only time a noise came out of one of us was when we passed the area when the accident happened. We saw Gabby's car was a huge wreck. I heard Shar whimper, "Oh, no. Please don't let her be dead."

When we got to the hospital, I walked quickly to the receptionist's desk and asked, "Excuse me, we're looking for Gabriella Montez, what room is she in?"

The receptionist checked on her computer. "Gabriella Montez- room 211, floor 2. But you'll have to stay outside, nobody's allowed to see her right now," she told us.

Shar thanked her, and we almost flew to the elevator. We found her room easily, and waited outside until a man came out of the room. "Dr. Bryant?" I asked.

He turned and looked at us. "Hello. Who are you?"

"Troy Bolton," I told him, "and this is Sharpay Evans. We're friends of Gabriella's."

"Ah. I suppose you'll be wanting to know how Miss Montez is doing?"

"Yes, please," said Shar.

He looked at his clipboard.

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A/N: Oooooooooh, CLIFFIE!!!!! Review x 3 means an update, so review in order to find out what's wrong with Gabriella. 

A/N#2: My new story is up. It's called My Best Friends' Brothers, and it's a Hannah Montana and High School Musical crossover. Please R&R that, too.


	9. A Leg So Fake, It's Not Even Funny

**Once Upon A Love**

_A Troypay Story_

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical. :( But I do own the plot. :).

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A Note To My Reviewers:

xamyxjx- You'll see what happened in this chapter. Enjoy. Muahahahahahaha.

jade-kwl-name-eva- You say a change in personality, I say that's what she was thinking throughout the entire movie. Lol.

u noe im da playa 4rm dis era- You're right about one part. Let's just say Taylor will hate Sharpay way more after this chapter.

ascii27- Whatever. I already posted my story on Hannah Montana, and it seems like a good choice to me…

marri- Don't worry, she won't die… although in Gabriella's case maybe death would be good… nah, I'm not _that _cruel.

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A/N: I just realized how lame I am. A couple of days ago I was singing the Higgly Town Heroes theme song with my sister at 10:40 PM. Lame, isn't it?

((Troy's POV))

Dr. Bryant took a deep breath. Why did he have to do that? Can't he just get on with it? "I have good news, and bad news," he said.

This was starting to get really annoying. Why does he have to say that? I want to know what's wrong with Gabby already! The doctor took another deep breath. "The good news is, Gabriella will not die, nor is she already dead."

Sharpay breathed a sigh of relief, and laid her head on my shoulder. Then, Dr. Bryant… well, I'm going to let you guess what he did. That's right, he took yet another deep breath. "The bad news is, Gabriella screwed up her leg pretty badly. She's going to have to get a prosthetic leg."

Well, that's not too bad. After all, a "geek" like Gabby doesn't do much on their legs. She doesn't have to play basket ball, cheer, dance… oh, c--p. The musical! "Dr. Bryant?" I asked hesitantly, "Will Gabriella be able to dance?"

"Yes, Troy, she will. As long as she doesn't have to bend her right leg. Why do you ask? Is Gabriella a dancer?"

"Well, no, but we have a school musical coming up, and Gabriella is the female lead."

Dr. Bryant scratched his neck. "Uh, exactly _when _is this musical?" he asked nervously.

I was about to answer, but Sharpay did it for me. "February second," she told him.

"Oh," said Dr. Bryant, "I'm sorry to tell you this, but Gabriella is going to have to be hospitalized for a three weeks. She'll only be able to leave the hospital on the first, and I'm pretty sure you have to do rehearsals, and all that."

There was an awkward silence for a while, and Dr. Bryant left to go somewhere. Shar and I were left alone, so it was less awkward. "Looks like I'll be doing the musical with you then," she said.

"Yeah," I smiled at her, "I just don't understand one thing."

"What's that?" she asked.

"Why didn't the hospital call her mom first?"

Sharpay's eyes widened. "Oh my gosh," she cried, "I completely forgot! Troy, we have to call her!"

I bit my lip. This was not going to be easy. How do you call someone and tell them that their daughter was in an accident, and that she has to have a prosthetic leg? "O-okay…" I stuttered, and slowly took out my phone.

I have Gabby's home number on my cell, and her mother might be home. She was, and she picked up on the first ring. I don't know how people manage to do that. "Hello?" Gabby's mom said.

"Hi, uh, Ms. Montez. This is Troy. Troy Bolton. You know, Gabriella's friend?" I said nervously, trying not to stutter.

"Oh, hello, Troy," she said cheerfully, "Gabriella's not home yet. I don't know why though, school got out half an hour ago…"

I took a deep breath before continuing. (I finally know why doctors do it all the time!) "Ms. Montez, I know why Gabriella isn't home."

"Oh, Troy, did something happen?"

I could hear the panic in her voice. "Actually, something did," I told her, "G-Gabriella was in, uh, a, uh, car accident. She's at the hospital, and me and another friend of mine are here with her."

I could hear Gabby's mom start to cry. "Oh… my… poor… baby," she managed to say in between sobs, "I'll… be… right… there."

She hung up. "Well, that went well," I said sarcastically to Shar.

She smiled at me sympathetically, and reached out to hug me, while I cried a little bit into her shoulder.

((Taylor's POV))

I was on my way to the hospital. Ever since homeroom, I had been worried about Gabriella. On the news last night I heard that there had been a car accident, and that a girl of 16 years was in the car. There was a birds-eye view picture of the accident, and the car looked like Gabriella's. When I finally got to talk to somebody who actually knew where Gabriella was, in this case, Sharpay, my fear was confirmed.

_Flashback_

"_Hey, Taylor."_

_I spun around to see who said my name. I was confused at who and what I saw. Sharpay was standing behind me, with a weird expression on her face. She took a deep breath. "I'm assuming you saw the news last night," she said._

"_Yeah," I told her, "How did you know?"_

_Sharpay rolled her eyes. "It's a known fact that all the smart kids watch the news every night."_

_Wow. This was amazing. Sharpay called me a smart kid, instead of a geek, which is what she usually calls me. "Oh. Is it really that obvious?" I asked, and we both laughed._

_I never thought I would actually make Sharpay Evans, a.k.a the Ice Queen, laugh. "So you saw the part about the car accident?" she asked slowly._

_I shut my eyes. When I opened them, Sharpay was still there, and waiting for an answer. "It was Gabby, wasn't it?" I asked quietly._

_She nodded, and reached her arms out to me. I gladly accepted the hug, and cried on her shoulder for a while. A few minutes later, I wiped my tears away. "Is she…?" I started to ask, but then I stopped._

_I couldn't bring myself to say the word. "No," Sharpay assured me, "She's not dead."_

"_So how's she doing?" I asked._

"_Considerably well, but she has to be hospitalized for three weeks, and she has to have a prosthetic leg."_

_I took a deep breath. "Ok," I said, "That's not the worst that could happen."_

_Sharpay smiled at me, and I smiled back. Looks like the Ice Queen has melted… "Bye," I said, and walked to my next class._

I got to the hospital, and asked if I could see Gabby. The receptionist told me that I could, and that she was in room 211, on the second floor. I decided to take the stairs, because after sitting on my butt at school all day long, I needed some exercise. When I reached Gabby's room, I knocked on the door. "Come in," I heard her say.

"Hey, Gabby."

She looked ecstatic to see me. "Hi, Taylor. Come sit down," she said.

"How ya doin'?" I asked her.

Gabby sighed. "I'm doing fine, but I really wish everybody would stop asking me that."

"Ok, then," I said, "I'll ask you a different question, but please tell me if it's too personal."

She smiled. "Ask away," she told me.

"Why did you get in that accident? Gabby, I know you, and it is definitely not like you to drive around town absentmindedly."

"To tell you the truth," she started, "It was because of Sharpay and Troy."

"What? Gabby, I thought you were over them," I interrupted her.

"I am," sighed Gabby, "But I really don't see why Troy likes her. She is such a slut."

"I don't understand. Sharpay was really nice to me today at school. She offered me a shoulder to cry on when I found out about… well, you know…"

"She's an actress Taylor! It was probably part of her act. Any way, I'll try to explain. You know how Troy only asked her out yesterday?"

I nodded, and Gabby continued. "Well, I was walking with them to the parking lot yesterday, and I told Troy something. When he didn't reply, I looked at him, and saw Sharpay all over him. They were making out! And they weren't even an official couple for a day! I swear, Tay, she probably doesn't even like him."

After I saw what Sharpay did today, it didn't seem like she would do such a thing. But I guess some things never change. "And remember after the championship basketball game, when Sharpay told me to 'break a leg?'" she asked.

"Yeah," I said.

"Well, look. I know it's not necessarily 'breaking' my leg, but it's close. Let me tell you something, Taylor. I don't believe in fate, but I do believe in evil witches. And Sharpay, well, it seems to me like she is one."

By now I was steamed. Gabby had convinced me. I don't care if Sharpay was there for me earlier. She is definitely going to get a piece of my mind.

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A/N: There you go, an update. But if you want another one, you have to pay the price: 3 good reviews.

A/N#2: Hope you all enjoyed that flashback. It's the first one I've ever done, and if you like it, I'll put in more.


	10. Back to School

**Once Upon A Love**

_A Troypay Story_

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical. :( But I do own the plot. :).

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A Note To My Reviewers: 

xamyxjx- Oh, yeah? Well, I hated her so much before, that I _can't _hate her any more. Lol.

Belle McKay- Thank you, and here's your update!

spazpeoplercool- Hooray for little kid shows! Lol.

YagottaluvHSM- Gabriella's not a witch, she's something that rhymes with that, and also means a female dog…

marri- Just you wait… there _will _be revenge. And a lot of it…

jade-kwl-name-eva- Hehe… I was lazy, and now she only has one person to look out for again. Lol. Sorry.

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A/N: I'm desperate for reviews on my other story… so if you're nice… please please please please please review it! 

((Gabriella's POV))

I tried making my way up the school steps with my crutches, and let me tell you, it wasn't easy. Sure, I can walk, but I'm still not that used to my prosthetic leg. It's my first day back at school, and I'm really excited. Whenever Taylor or Kelsi came to visit me at the hospital, I told them to make Sharpay's life a living h--l. The time came to see my work. "Hey, Gabby! Wait up!" I heard Chad call me from behind.

I stopped. "Listen, Gabby. Taylor told me everything, and Kelsi told Jason as well. We were the ones who didn't let them do it. It's not their faults, so I'm just telling you now, don't be mad at them," Chad said when he caught up with me.

"But why, Chad? I thought you hated Sharpay, too."

"Gabby, come on. I may hate her, but she doesn't deserve it, and neither does Troy."

I sighed. Looks like the work was all up to me now. "Alright," I said, "I'm sorry. You're right, I guess I was just cranky because of my accident."

Chad smiled. "Great, now Taylor, Jason, Kelsi, and I had a talk. We said we were willing to forgive and forget, if you're willing to change back to the old you."

"The old me?" I asked, "There is no old or new me. There's just me."

"Right, but before this whole thing happened with the musical and everything, you were really nice. Now, it seems like all you care about is getting revenge on Sharpay," he explained.

I smiled and nodded. "Ok," I told him, "I'll try."

"I knew you would," he said.

The bell sounded, and Chad looked at me evilly. "Race you to class!" he yelled, and took off running.

"Wait," I cried, "Chad, no! Don't leave me here! I can't run in crutches!"

There was no use in yelling. Chat was already out of sight, and he probably couldn't hear me anymore. Sighing, I realized that the last people in the hall had dispersed into different classrooms, and that I was the only one there. I slowly made my way to my own classroom, and when I got there, after about five minutes of hobbling around, I opened the door. I was shocked at what I saw. "Surprise!" everybody yelled.

I limped my way into the room, and gasped. There was a cake, balloons all over the room, and a huge sign hanging from the ceiling that said, "Welcome Back!" "This is… this is just amazing! How did you do it?" I gasped.

Mrs. Darbus smiled. That's a first… "It was all Troy and Sharpay's idea. They planned the party, Taylor and Kelsi made the sign, Jason and Ryan blew up the balloons, and Zeke made the cake," she said.

"I was the distraction," Chad said proudly.

We all laughed. "Well, what are we waiting for?" asked Taylor, "Let's get this party started!"

She came over and hugged me. "Go thank Troy and Sharpay," Taylor whispered fiercely in my ear.

I knew this was too good to be true. Oh, well. I don't have to mean it or anything. I decided to do Troy first. "Hey, Troy," I said flirtatiously.

"Hey, Gabby," he said, and hugged me, "Glad to see you're out of the hospital."

I giggled. "Thanks, Troy. For what you just said, and this amazing party. I can't believe you would do something like this, for me."

Troy grinned his beautiful boyish grin. "Hey, no problem. For you, Sharpay, Chad, Jason, Zeke, Ryan, Taylor, or Kelsi, I would do this any day."

He should have stopped at you, and continued at I. Oh, well. At least I was actually on that list. "Well, bye, Troy. I have to go thank Sharpay," I said, and left him reluctantly.

I would have loved to stay and flirt with him, but then my plan wouldn't work. Oh, yeah. I have a backup plan. I found Sharpay. "Hi," I said quietly.

"Hi, Gabriella. How's your first day back so far?"

"It's great. This party is amazing, as I already said."

After that there was an awkward silence, but I knew I had to break it. "Thanks," I said.

Sharpay looked at me with a confused expression on her face. "For what?" she asked.

"For this great party, and for not trying to hurt me when I completely blew up on you."

The second part I made up right off the top of my head. Troy should be proud of me. "Yeah… you're welcome," Sharpay said quietly.

Then, she did something I never thought she would do. She stuck out her hand. "Truce?" she asked me.

Wow. This was totally unexpected… but, it will do wonders for my plan. I rolled my eyes. "Yeah," I smiled, "Why not? Truce."

And then we shook.

((Sharpay's POV))

"And then she actually agreed to the truce! Can you believe her, Ryan?"

"Actually, I can. You wanted peace, and you got it. I don't see why you have to complain about it to me."

I was pacing back and forth in my brother's room, trying to figure out why Gabriella agreed to make peace. It was so not like her at all. Unless… "Ry, do you think that it was part of her plan? You know, to go and make peace with me, and then do something to me when I least expect it?"

All Ryan did was yawn. "Come on, Ryan! I know that it's three in the morning, but I need to know what she's up to, and I need to know NOW!"

"Which brings me to my next point. Shar, it's the middle of the night, and I want to go back to sleep. Why can't we do this in the morning?" he asked.

"Because, Ryan, I do my best thinking at night," I told him.

Ryan rolled his eyes and said, "Fine. You wanna know what I think. I think it's stupid that Gabby's fighting over Troy with you, when she could have me."

I gasped, and Ryan quickly said, "Shar, I didn't mean it that way, I swear!"

That wasn't good enough for me. I didn't believe him. I burst out laughing. "You like Gabriella???" I asked.

"No, Sharpay, I swear, I don't," Ryan tried to tell me, but I still didn't believe him.

"C'mon, Ry! Just admit it! You like her. No big deal," I said.

"No big deal? Shar, are you sure? I mean, I don't know for sure, but it looks to me like you hate each others' guts."

"I'm positive, Ryan," I assured him, "I'm me, and you're you. You can like whoever you want, and it doesn't matter if I like them."

"Ok. I like her. A lot," Ryan admitted, "But you have to swear not to tell anyone."

"I swear," I said, and we did our Twin Promise Pact.

I smiled at him, then went back into my own room, to think a bit by myself. If Ryan really likes Gabriella, then I won't do anything to hurt her too badly. I'll just wait until she strikes, then take it standing up.

* * *

A/N: Wow. I actually managed to post a chapter, then post another one the next day. And if you want me to post another chapter tomorrow… well, you know what you have to do! 

A/N#2: It's the tenth chappie already! So now I will thank each and every person who ever reviewed this story.

**Thank you to the following people who reviewed once:**

Belle McKay

Spazpeoplercool

u noe im da playa 4rm dis era

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**Thank you to the following people who reviewed twice:**

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**Thank you to the following people who reviewed three times:**

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**Thank you to the following people who reviewed four times:**

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**Thank you to the following people who reviewed five times:**

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**_AND A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU TO MY FIRST REVIEWER, WHO ALSO HAPPENED TO REVIEW EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER:_** xamyxjx!!!!!!!!!


	11. Meet Rosa

**Once Upon A Love**

_A Troypay Story_

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical.:( But I do own the plot. :).

* * *

A Note To My Reviewers: 

XxXxIcePrincessXxXx- Thank you, and you're right.

Elm-Tree10- Thank you, and here's your update!

spazpeoplercool- Yeah, but still. Although she's not a real person, there are people that act a lot like her.

marri- No, Ryan is not going to ask Gabriella out… at least, not yet.

jade-kwl-name-eva- Let's just say… not very long. Muahahahaha.

* * *

A/N: I just got back from camp, so I have a very good reason why I didn't update. So ha! 

((Ryan's POV))

"¡Adiós, estudiantes¡No se olvide de hacer su preparación!" Señora Diego said. (A/N: This was taken off an English-Spanish translator website. I barely know any Spanish, so don't blame me if it's wrong! Oh, and it's supposed to mean, "Goodbye, students. Don't forget to do your homework!")

I walked towards the door, but bumped into a girl on the way. All her books fell to the floor, and I kneeled down to help her. "Ryan," I said, trying to be friendly.

"Rosa," she smiled.

I wonder why I never noticed she was in my school, let alone my class. She was really pretty. "Are you new?" I asked.

"No," Rosa told me, "But I'm sorta a loner. I barely talk to people."

"Oh," I said, "Well, lunch is next, would you like to sit with me and my friends?"

Rosa's face brightened up. "Of course!" she said gratefully, as I helped her get up.

As we walked down the hallway to the cafeteria, I decided to start a conversation. "So where are you from? I notice you have an accent," I asked.

"Well, my dad got transferred here from Mexico before seventh grade. In middle school I went to the private school, and before high school, I decided I want to go to a public school. All of my friends went to the private high school, and I felt that they were enough friends for me. Besides, I could always see them on weekends and such. That's why I didn't really try to make friends here," Rosa explained.

By the time she was done talking, we had already made it to the cafeteria doors. I nodded, "Interesting."

Rosa smiled and reached for the door handle. I gently pushed her hand away. "Wait, Rosa, before we go in," I started, "will you go with me to the Opening Night After Party? It's tonight, and I don't have a date yet. Well, not that I'm just asking you because I need a date. I mean, I find you very fascinating, and I think we might have a good relationship ahead of us, and I'm blubbering, aren't I?"

Rosa giggled. "Yes, you are. And I'd love to go with you," she told me.

I smiled as I took her hand and led her to the table where I usually sit. When we got there, I cleared my throat. "I have someone you should meet," I announced.

"Wait until Zeke gets here," Chad said.

"He's the only one not here yet," Jason added.

"Where is he anyway?" Taylor asked him.

"Oh, I completely forgot!" Troy cried out, "He said he wasn't going to be sitting with us anymore. He's joined the cooking club and is now sitting with them."

"That's too bad," Sharpay frowned, "I was going to invite him to the After Party."

Troy looked hurt. "I thought you were going with me," he whined.

"I am, but just like you invited Chad, and Gabriella invited Taylor," she explained, "I was going to invite Zeke. So that our entire group would be there."

"Sorry to interrupt," I said, "but I still have _my _date to introduce to you."

Gabby and Kelsi giggled. "So what's her name?" they asked simultaneously, in a sing-songy voice.

"This is Rosa," I introduced, "She's in my science class."

A chorus of "Hey, Rosa," went around the table.

Sharpay glared at me, and mouthed, "We'll talk when we get home."

I just shrugged, and dug into my food.

((Sharpay's POV))

Once again, I was pacing back and forth in Ry's room. "But I don't get it!" I screamed at him, "This morning you told me you were practically in love with Gabriella, and now you ask this Rosa girl to the After Party? Ryan, you didn't even know she existed 'til today!"

"Sharpay," Ryan sighed, and I could tell he was tired of dealing with me, "Gabby would never like me as more than a friend. She's too hung up on Troy. And besides, I'm over her now."

"Aaaargh! RYAN! YOU CAN'T GET OVER SOMEBODY THAT FAST! IT, LIKE, DEFIES NATURE!"

At this point I didn't care if I made sense or not. I was just frustrated that Ry asked out a girl he just met, when he couldn't get the guts to ask Gabriella. Sure, I might not like her, but he definitely does. "Shar," Ryan tried to reason with me again, "When I met Rosa, something clicked in my head. I realized that there were girls in the world like her, that seemed to be perfect, and that didn't happen with Gabby. I think I only liked Gabby, because I thought it would make your love triangle less confusing, but instead it made it more confusing."

I banged my head against the wall. "You know what's confusing, Ry? Talking to you! I'm going to go get ready now."

And as I was walking into my room, I realized that our conversation didn't make sense at all, and I was right back where I started, only with a headache now.

* * *

A/N: Review please!!! And I promise I'll update within a week. PLEASE!!!??? 

A/N#2: Sorry about the shortness. This was sort of a filler chapter… and actually I don't know what it was filling in at all, but whatever.


	12. Ryan and Rosa's Night

**Once Upon A Love**

_A Troypay Story_

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical. Or the restaurant 'Olive Garden.' :( But I do own the plot. :).

* * *

A Note To My Reviewers: 

XxXxIcePrincessXxXx- Yes, she is. But don't worry. It will all be solved soon.

Elm-Tree10- I know! Isn't Troypay the best???

spazpeoplercool- I know. When my first crush moved away, I still had hopes for, like, half a year.

ThinkingOfYou- What do you mean by "going in a different direction?"

* * *

A/N: I wonder what it's like to be a slice of cheese… Uh, sorry. Random moment. Move along. Nothing to see here. He-he... 

((Ryan's POV))

Once Shar finished interrogating me, I had to get ready and go pick up Rosa. The play didn't start for another two hours, but the gang all decided to go to dinner beforehand. "I'm leaving!" I called as I ran down the stairs.

"Bye!" I heard Sharpay yell from inside her room.

For some reason I'm not surprised that I finished getting ready before her. "Bye, Wy," my other sister came up to me.

She's three, and just stopped using a pacifier. The doctor said that if she stopped using it, she would learn her Rs and Ls sooner. "Bye-bye, Michelle," I said, picking her up, "You be good for Mommy and Daddy, understand?"

"Yes, Wyan. You'we siwwy!" Michelle giggled.

I put her down and looked at my watch. There was still quite a bit of time before Rosa and I had to meet the others, but I decided to leave now so that we wouldn't be late if I got lost on the way to her house.

Surprisingly, I found my way to her house perfectly. Rosa answered the door when I knocked. "Hey, Ryan. You're here early. I just barely finished getting ready," she told me.

"Yeah, I know," I replied, "I wasn't sure how long it would take me to get here. Anyway, you look… wow."

Rosa giggled. "So do you," she said.

"So should we leave now?" I asked her.

"Yes," she agreed, and then called out, "Bye, I'm going now!"

Without even waiting for a reply, she whisked me out the door and into the car. "What's the rush?" I joked.

"Oh, uh, I'm just really hungry," Rosa said.

"Alright…" I muttered, and drove to the restaurant.

There was a really long pause before Rosa spoke up, "So where are we going anyway?"

"Olive Garden," I told her, "Yeah, we're all really big fans of Italian food."

"Cool! So am I!" she squealed, and we drove off in silence.

When we got there, I went up to the podium. "Um, we have a reservation. Evans, party of nine," I informed the girl behind it.

Shar had made the reservation, so that's why it was on our name. Samantha, as her nametag said, smiled, "Follow me," she told us.

Rosa and I were led to a fairly large table in the back of the restaurant. Chad, Taylor, and Gabby were the only ones there so far. "Finally!" Gabby sighed when she saw us, "I'm not a third wheel anymore!"

"No, now you're a fifth wheel," Chad laughed.

"Don't you have a date?" I asked, confused.

"No," Gabby sighed once again, "All the good ones were taken."

By good ones, of course, I knew she meant Troy. I looked at her, "Well, I'll save you a dance, if you want," I offered, "Is that okay with you, Rosa?"

"Yeah. I know I'd want that too."

Gabby looked at me and smiled. "Thanks, Ryan," she said.

((Rosa's POV))

While the others chatted away, I sat silently eating my Caesar Salad. This was not going the way I'd planned. Ryan was talking to Gabriella, or at least was trying to. Gabriella was trying to talk to Troy, who was talking to Sharpay and Kelsi about the play. Meanwhile, Taylor was lecturing Chad and Jason about how basketball would ruin their brains. Me? I'm stabbing the pieces of lettuce on my plate, pretending that they're Gabriella. Suddenly, I heard Troy speak up to the entire group. "I'm done. Who wants dessert?" he asked.

And then Ryan remembered that I exist. "Rosa, when we left your house, you said you were starving. Why didn't you eat much?" he asked, concerned.

I looked around the table and saw that everybody else's plates were clean. "I was just… saving room for dessert. Yeah! I heard they have great tiramisu here. Yum…" I improvised.

"Okay," Ryan shrugged, and went back to talking to Gabriella.

I didn't notice that the desert had come until I took a bite of my tiramisu. My eyes lit up, well, I didn't see it, but I imagine they did. "Wow! This _is_ good!" I almost screamed.

Ryan looked at me and laughed. "I'm glad you like it, because you have to finish all of it," he told me, like a father would to his daughter.

I nodded. "Yes, Daddy!" I joked.

I _did _finish it all, and left the restaurant full, after Sharpay had paid the bill. During the middle of the drive to school, I remembered that my mom wanted me to call her before the play. I fished around my purse for my phone, but couldn't find it. This was so not part of the plan. "Hey, Ryan, can I use your phone?" I asked hopefully.

"Sure," he said, and gave me his phone.

"Hello?" I heard on the other line.

"Hey, Mom, it's me."

"Oh, hi, Lorraine. How was dinner?"

"Fine," I said, and suddenly realized that the phone was set to speaker, and that Ryan was staring at me.

"Lorraine?" he asked.

"Gotta go Mommy, sorry, bye!" I screamed into the phone, then snapped it shut.

Ryan pulled over to the side of the road and looked at me sternly. "Explain. Now."

"Okay. My real name is Lorraine, not Rosa, but I think you already figured that out. I wanted to go with you to the After Party, and I know that you like Gabriella. So, I decided to try to be a lot like her, so you would give up on Gabriella, and go after me instead," I explained, only stopping for breath once.

"But why would you do that?" Ryan asked, confused, "I might have liked you for the real you."

"Yeah, no. I really don't think you would have. As for the why, Ryan are you rich?"

"No…"

"Then I really don't know why."

"Get. Out. NOW," Ryan said through his teeth, pointing to the car door and looking like his head was about to explode.

"Whatever," I rolled my eyes, and then started my long journey home.

* * *

A/N: I'd like reviews… Three of them... Just saying… 

A/N#2: Hope you enjoyed. Next chapter: Chad and Taylor's night. Oooh…


	13. Chad and Taylor's Night

**Once Upon A Love**

_A Troypay Story_

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical. :( But I do own the plot. :).

* * *

A Note To My Reviewers: 

marri- Don't be expecting Ryella just yet. It's probably not going to happen in this story.

xoxROMANCEADDICTxox- Here's your update!

Chesom549- Here's the Chad and Taylor, but it has a bit Gabriella mixed in…

spazpeoplercool- Sorry, no Ryella just yet. If I make a sequel, there's probably going to be Ryella, but not in this story.

ThinkingOfYou- Actually, that part was the only main Ryan part. I'm going to go off track for a while, and then come back to the Troypay.

Jenny1991: Seriously. You know, I actually have no idea why I put her in the story.

* * *

A/N: Listen, I'm really sorry, guys! I was going to update, but then I got this fabulous new writing notebook, and I wanted to write my next update in there while I was at school, but then I was grounded last week, which was the first week of school, and I couldn't update. And yesterday I went to a friend's house after school, so I didn't have much computer time. 

((Taylor's POV))

"There," I said, putting the finishing touch on my makeup.

I turned around to face Michael, my brother, who was sitting on my bed. Usually I wouldn't have let him in my room, but I was desperate for an opinion, and I wasn't about to ask either of my parents for theirs. "Wha'd'ya think?"

"Perfect. Wonderful," Mike said in a bored tone, "Can I go now?"

"Come on, Mike!" I begged, "I know you don't want to do this, but could you at lea-"

I was cut off by my cell ringing. I picked it up, careful not to ruin my manicure, and looked at the caller ID. Gabby. "Hey!" I said cheerfully, "Did you find a date?"

"No," she said sulkily, "Which is why you and Chad have to pick me up."

"What?! Gabby! It's only our third date!" I cried.

"Tay, please! If I show up alone, my rep will be destroyed!"

"And think of what will happen to Chad's," I pointed out, "If he shows up with two girls."

"Taylor…" Gabby whined.

"Alright," I sighed, "But only since I'm such a good friend."

"You are," Gabby agreed, and hung up.

"Now, Mike," I started, but looked and saw that Mike had left.

I sighed, and decided to go watch TV until Chad came. In the middle of a documentary about the eating habits of hippos, the doorbell rang. I jumped up and ran to the door. "Hey! Oh… it's you. Ugh. Mikey's in his room," I said when I saw that the person standing at the door wasn't Chad, but Mike's friend Annie.

"Ju-just me?" Annie whimpered.

She looks up to me, and I guess she didn't take that as a compliment… "Sorry, Annie. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," I apologized.

"I know you didn't," she whispered, smiling faintly, "You would never do that."

"It's just that I'm waiting for my boyfriend, and I thought you were him, so I was a bit disappointed," I explained.

Annie smiled hugely and looked at me in awe. "You have a boyfriend?"

"Yes, she does," I heard, "And here he is."

"CHAD!" I screamed, and gently pushed my way past Annie to hug him.

Chad chuckled softly and whispered, "I love you, too," into my ear.

Annie looked at us, and said thoughtfully, "I hope I have a boyfriend like that someday."

Chad ruffled her hair. "I'm sure you will, kiddo," he told her.

Annie giggled and ran to Mike's room. I locked the door behind me, and took Chad's hand as we walked to his car. "You never told me you were good with kids!" I teased Chad on our way to pick up Gabby.

When I told him we had to do that, he refused at first, but then gave in to my puppy dog pout. "I'm not, usually. That girl, she's something special."

I looked at Chad and smiled. "Annie? Yeah, she is," I agreed.

((Chad's POV))

I angrily parked the car. I can't believe that Taylor agreed to pick Gabby up without asking me! I mean, it _is _my car. "We're here!" I announced to the two girls chatting in my back seat.

Sheesh, it feels like I'm their chauffeur, or something! "Thanks, Chaddy," Taylor said sweetly as she stepped out the door that _I _was holding open.

"Any time, Taytay," I grinned.

Gabby giggled. "Aw, you two are the cutest!"

"Shall we?" I asked, holding out my elbow.

"We shall," Taylor replied, and together we skipped to the restaurant, while Gabby ran after us, laughing.

We took a moment to calm down, then went inside and said that we were part of the Evans party. The hostess, Samantha, led us to a large table, where surprisingly, nobody was sitting yet. "And I thought we were going to be late," I muttered under my breath to Taylor.

She nodded. When we sat down, we realized that we had a lot of waiting to do, so Taylor had the "wonderful" idea to complain to me about her brother. Gabby just sat there playing with her napkin. In the middle of a very "fascinating" story about how Michael put her diary in the blender, and made a 'secret smoothie', I heard Gabby say, "Finally, I'm not a third wheel anymore!"

I looked up and saw Samantha leading Ryan and his what's-her-face girlfriend to our table. "No," I laughed, "Now you're a fifth wheel."

"Don't you have a date?" Ryan asked Gabby.

Seriously. He is so in love with her. I don't understand why he didn't just ask her in the first place, instead of getting involved with this Rosa girl. I watched as Ryan offered to save Gabby a dance. What did I tell you? Huh? Jason and Kelsi were the next to come, and then Sharpay and Troy. Leave it to the drama queen to be fashionably late… "So did any of the college scouts talk to you yet?" Jason asked, bringing me back down to earth.

Taylor looked at us. "Talking about basketball, I see?"

"Um, yeah…" Jason said cautiously, "Is there a problem?"

"Yes, there is a problem!" Taylor said so loudly I jumped.

"Taylor-" I started.

"Don't 'Taylor' me!" she scolded, "Basketball will ruin your brains! It will help you get into coll… ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME???"

"Huh?" asked Jason, looking up from his pasta.

"Jason… I was saying that basketball will help you get into college, and then it will still be all about basketball for you, because you will think that the only thing you need to succeed in life is to be a good ball player. I mean, it helped you get into a good college, why not help you make money?"

"Who wants dessert?" Troy asked loudly.

This relieved me very much, and by the look on his face, it relieved Jason, too. I love Taylor, but sometimes she nags too much for her own good. "Taylor, you want to share a bowl of gelato?" I offered.

"Sure," she agreed, and ordered a bowl of chocolate gelato.

We made goo-goo eyes at one another the entire dessert, as Gabby later told us in the car. But I don't care about how we looked to other people. It may sound cheesy, but this is one of the moments of my life that I never want to forget.

* * *

A/N: Fill in the blank. I will update once I get 3 -blank-. 

A/N#2: Who watched High School Musical 2? Who loved High School Musical 2? Who cried at the end because A) they were being mean to Sharpay, and B) Troy and Gabriella kissed?


	14. Jason and Kelsi's Night

**Once Upon A Love**

_A Troypay Story_

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical. :( But I do own the plot. :).

* * *

A Note To My Reviewers: 

marri- It's okay, I don't mind about the chapter dedication think, though I am wondering when we're going to plan our collaborated story…

Chesom549- Lol, Gabriella's dateless butt… nice. I actually really did cry during those parts…

ThinkingOfYou- It hasn't come out in Israel either, but I watched it on Youtube…

* * *

A/N: You have to admit, this quick update totally makes up for my loss of updating… right? Edit: OMFG... I'm sorry! Something was wrong with the site, and somehow the chapter wasn't added... I didn't realize it 'til now! 

((Jason's POV))

"Hello," I said nervously, as a man in a suit and tie opened the door.

He stuck out his hand. "Matthew Nielsen," he said, "Kelsi's father."

I couldn't help but noticed that he hasn't smiled at me yet. "J-Jason Cross. Um, I'm Kelsi's date…"

"I know," he said, and motioned for me to come inside.

I slowly stepped inside, and looked around. There were paintings and pictures all over the walls. The one that caught my eye the most looked like a family portrait. Mr. Nielsen and a woman were standing behind a couch that had five kids on it. I immediately recognized Kelsi, who was sitting in the middle. "Nice house," I commented.

"Thank you," Mr. Nielsen said, "Follow me."

I followed him to what looked like a living room. He sat on an armchair and patted the chair next to him. I figured that he wanted me to sit there. "So…" I said.

"Listen, son," he started.

Uh-oh. This can't be good. It's probably the father to girl's-boyfriend talk that I've heard about so much. I really hope he approves of sweaty athletes, because he doesn't really look that way. I tuned back in to hear his final words. "Are we clear?"

"Yes, Mr. Nielsen," I said, trying to sound confident.

"Good," he said, smiling for the first time, "Let me go get Kelsi."

I waited for about two minutes, and then Mr. Nielsen came back with Kelsi and the woman in the portrait. "I'm Sandra," she said sweetly.

I smiled. "Hi."

Kelsi grabbed my arm. "Why don't we get going?" she asked, "It's a long way to the restaurant from here."

Mr. Nielsen nodded. "That it is. You two should leave. We'll see you at the play."

Mrs. Nielsen led us to the door. "Have fun," she said.

"You look beautiful," I told Kelsi, after we had left.

"Thanks," she said, "I worked really hard on my appearance. Twinkle Town is the first production that I've written that's ever actually been performed. It's a dream come true."

"_You're_ a dream come true," I whispered.

Oops. Didn't mean to say that out loud… I hope she didn't hear. "Thanks," Kelsi whispered back, "That's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me."

"_You're _the sweetest thing that's ever happened to me," I whispered again.

Kelsi laughed this time. "Are we going to keep this up all night?" she asked as we got into my car.

"Maybe," I shrugged, and we both laughed as I drove.

((Kelsi's POV))

"Don't worry about it," Sharpay told me.

"I don't know…" I said, "Everybody laughed at the title when they first heard it."

"Come on, Kels, titles aren't everything," Troy tried to convince me, "I mean, you can't judge a book by it's cover, right?"

"Forget the title then. What if they don't like the actual play?"

"Kelsi. Listen to me. If I'm in the show, they have to like it!" Sharpay said.

"You know you're not doing a very good job of reassuring me, right Sharpay?" I asked.

"Whatever," she said, "At least I'm trying, unlike your so-called boyfriend. Why are you even going out with him anyway?"

"Whoa," Troy butted in, "I'm going to stop this girly conversation before it starts. Now, back to talking about the play."

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that Sharpay was right. Jason and I have nothing in common. "Kelsi?" I heard Troy ask, "Are you listening? We can't try to talk you into thinking the play is going to be perfect if you're not cooperating!"

"Yeah, I'm listening. Sorry, Troy."

Sharpay put her hand on my shoulder, and looked me in the eye. "Mrs. Darbus had us working our butts off all month long. We had it perfected a long time ago. I don't know about you, but I could do the play in my sleep. Now, get yourself together. YOU'LL BE FINE!"

"And if you're not, well, at least you'll know at an early stage of life that it's not your thing. I mean, you're good at lots of things, not only that," Troy said, trying to show me the worst-case scenario.

I smiled at the two of them… they really make a nice couple… Anyway, back on track… "Thanks for the pep talk, guys. I really appreciate it. I mean, I'm not perfectly fine yet, but I'm better. We'll be okay…"

Troy reached across Sharpay and playfully punched my arm. "That's the spirit, Kels. Just keep thinking that."

* * *

A/N: Um, hello! Just because I say I only need three reviews doesn't mean I wouldn't like more than that… 

A/N#2: I'll be updating My Best Friends' Brothers tomorrow, if anybody's interested.


	15. The Play

**Once Upon A Love**

_A Troypay Story_

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical. :( But I do own the plot. :).

* * *

A Note To My Reviewers:

marri- How 'bout you just give me your screen name, and then whenever we're both o/l we'll work on it?

Chesom549- I know, aren't they? The next chapter has some Jelsi in it, F.Y.I…

ThinkingOfYou- Yeah, but they're going to have a bit of relationship problems later.

sPazZii chIc- Thank you so much!

F29DWNxluverx4- Don't worry, I don't hate people for liking Troyella. Especially if they like my stories… Lol.

* * *

A/N: My dad has really got to stop grounding me… anyway, yes, I purposely skipped Troy and Sharpay's night. You'll see why later.

((Jason's POV))

Well. There is only one thing I can say now. Or, rather, think. And that one thing is, "Awkward!"

The eight of us got to the school early, because Troy, Sharpay, and Kelsi had some last minute things that they had to do. The five of us that weren't performing sat in the fourth row. Chad sat next to Taylor, who sat next to Gabby, who sat next to Ryan, who sat next to me. Also, Zeke must have slipped in next to Chad at some point, because that's where I saw him during the intermission. Anyway, I was sitting on the end. Guess who decided to sit on the other side of me? Mr. Nielsen and his scarily large family. It was actually really fascinating to watch. Mr. Nielsen sat down first. Then Mrs. Nielsen brushed dust off her chair and sat, while balancing two babies on her arm. Finally, the kids sat. I counted them. There were four, plus Kelsi and the two babies, which means the portrait is outdated. "Hello," Mr. Nielsen said with a nod.

I gave him a weak smile, and said back, "Hi."

Mr. Nielsen, probably hoping to get a conversation going, kept talking. "So how was dinner?" he asked.

"Nice," I replied, "The pasta was good…"

"What did you and Kelsi talk about?" he asked me, eager to keep the interview going.

Well, that's what it seemed like… But seriously. Enough is enough! -Sigh- If I want Kels to stay my girlfriend, I'd better answer him. "Uh, you know. Random stuff… basketball, school, the play, food…" I trailed off.

As luck would have it, the lights dimmed at that moment. Apparently luck is on my side. Oh, look. It's Mrs. Darbus. We all know what that means, don't we? Nap time!

((Sharpay's POV))

I breathed heavily as Troy and I finished "What I've Been Looking For." The end of the song signaled the end of the first act. It was hard to keep the pose until the curtain went down. As soon as it did, I collapsed into Troy's arms. He led me to the backstage area, where we both sat down. "Kelsi!" I screamed at the girl who was happily skipping around in a circle about two yards from us.

"Yes?" she asked expectantly.

"Why did you double time all the numbers???"

Let me explain: The play was going fine until the 2nd number, when Kelsi decided to speed things up a bit. Henry Walsh, who was playing The Incredible Mr. Schain, and a bunch of backup dancers, who were playing his cronies, got extremely confused, and gave up trying to dance. The next number was Troy's solo, and luckily, he was ready to double time.

"Sorry," Kelsi shrugged, "I've never had caffeine before."

Oops. My bad. I was the one who told Kels that a cappuccino would calm her down… I turned around to find Troy talking to Ryan. "Ry!" I cried when there was a pause in the conversation, "Why didn't I see Rosa out there with you?"

"Gold digger," he told me.

I nodded. As the other "Rich Evans Twin" I completely understood his position. "Sharpay! Troy! This is no time for a tea party! Say goodbye to Ryan! We need you on stage!" Mrs. Darbus practically screamed in our ears.

Troy and I waved to Ryan, and quickly got on stage to continue the play.

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A/N: You know, three reviews really aren't that much. I mean, if you're already reading it, why not review, right?

A/N#2: Oh, and The Incredible Mr. Schain really is supposed to be a character in Twinkle Towne... if you look closely at the callbacks list, you can see it.


	16. The After Party

**Once Upon A Love**

_A Troypay Story_

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical. Or the songs mentioned in this chapter.  But I do own the plot. .

A Note To My Reviewers:

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marri- ::Sigh:: This is getting too confusing. I'll just PM you my YIM screen name, and we'll talk.

Chesom549- My parents have only 4 kids, but it's extremely crazy around the house… I can't imagine how it would be for the Nielsens. Lol.

LucyLicious xx- Don't you mean '_Update_ soon'?

into.your.arms- Thank you so much!

F29DWNxluverx4- Yeah, I have a really bad habit of writing short, pointless chapters.

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A/N: Hope this was fast enough for all those who wanted a quick update… Oh, and in case you were wondering about my HM story, I might not start it for a while, 'cause I'm busy with my two stories, and homework, and working on a book…

((Kelsi's POV))

I looked down into my lap. Sharpay was totally right. I don't even know why I liked Jason in the first place. It was bad enough that he didn't try to make me feel better during dinner, but ever since the play ended all he said to me was, "Nice play."

And several others had told me this as well, with even more enthusiasm than he did. Now, here we are, at the after party, sitting together at a table, with an awkward silence filling the air. Well, I can't say it was a silence, because music was blaring from a gazillion speakers around the room. But it's extremely awkward. Jason cleared his throat, and I looked up at him hopefully. When he didn't say anything, I spoke up. "Listen- Jason."

"No," he interrupted, "You listen. I know I haven't exactly been the perfect date tonight."

"I'll say…" I muttered.

Jason took my hand in his, and continued. "When I stepped into your house earlier this evening, something clicked in me. This might not seem 'manly' and whatnot, but I don't care. I owe it to you to tell the truth. After all, you're a great girl, and I appreciate you-"

"Jason, you're stalling," I giggled.

"I guess I am," he mumbled, and hesitated before finally saying something else. "Kelsi, when I stepped into your house earlier this evening, I felt intimidated. Everything was so formal, and then your dad was all un-smilish, and holy crap, Kels, you have six siblings, you're probably going to want a lot of kids. And look at you. You're smart; you're extremely talented at writing, and playing the piano… I just don't know how to live up to that."

After that I felt like kissing him to death. I don't care at all that that was 'un-manly' or whatever he called it. That was by far the sweetest thing anybody's ever said to me. And I'm not just saying that to complete the cheese-fest. I stared at Jason and bit my lip. That boy has to be set straight. "Jason, our family is far from formal. You said it yourself, my parents have seven kids. It gets extremely hectic at my house all the time. And, oh my god, I love my siblings to death, but they totally annoy me at times, and I wouldn't wish that many siblings on any poor child. About my dad, he's just really overprotective of his children. After my oldest brother, who's actually the eighth, but we never talk about him, got his girlfriend pregnant at age seventeen, then eloped with her, and then ran away from home, my dad became obsessive with my family's love interests. You should feel lucky that he even let me come with you tonight. It shows that he highly respects you. All that junk you said about my 'talents.' Jason, you're also extremely talented. You just haven't figured out all your talents yet, and I'm not surprised. My mom said that her psychologist told her that many people don't find their true talents until after school," I blurted out, and then took a deep breath.

Jason's reaction was identical to mine after what he said. Except in his case, he actually turned his thoughts into actions. Jason stood up, and before I knew it, our lips were pressed up against each other's. It was everything I thought my first kiss would be like. Everything, and more.

((Taylor's POV))

Chad and I, never having been to an after party, didn't know what to expect. All the way to the school we worried that it would seem boring to us, and we wouldn't fit in. Gabriella tried to tell us that it was "no biggie, it's just a few people."

We didn't listen to her, though. How can you trust a girl who's giving you after-party advice, when she's never even been to one herself? But as soon as the party started our fears disappeared. The after party was basically a school dance, except with less people. There were people dancing, a snack table, and since the play was a musical, a karaoke machine. Right now Gabby was singing her heart out to, "I Need A Hero."

The poor girl didn't get the chance she deserved to sing on stage earlier, but she sure was making up for it now. "Hey," Chad said from behind me, surprising me.

"Hey yourself," I said, hugging him.

We had lost track of one another when I went to the bathroom to touch up my make up. "You wanna dance?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes at him and said sarcastically, "You have half a guess."

He grabbed my hand and led me onto the dance floor. We danced past Sharpay's rendition of "One In A Million," and then past Gabby's version of "Cry Me A River."

Call me crazy, but I think Sharpay and Gabriella are having a miniature competition between them. "Here's a crazy idea!" Chad said, glancing at the karaoke sign up sheet, "How 'bout me and you sing? This whole Gabby vs. Sharpay thing is driving me insane."

Apparently I wasn't the only one who saw it, but I wasn't about to sing in front of all these people. "No, Chad," I said flatly.

"Please, Tay? Just this once? For me?"

I sighed. But I guess, if it makes Chad happy… "Fine."

Gabriella and Sharpay sang a couple more songs before it was our turn. When we walked up on stage, the DJ looked at us and asked, "So what song will it be?"

I looked at Chad. We really haven't decided on a song yet. "Err, will you recommend something?" he asked.

"Sure," the DJ smiled at us, "Sing 'Twist and Shout.' I heard it's really fun to perform, and it's a classic."

I got up and sang with Chad, but the whole time we were singing, I had a different song running through my mind. _It feels so right, to be here with you._

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A/N: Dsdfjwfowfm. That's all I have to say, people. I am very disappointed. 29 people on my alert list, and only 5 reviews? Tsk, tsk…

A/N#2: Who can guess what song that's from? Lol, it should be easy.


	17. Sharpay and Troy's Night

**Once Upon A Love**

_A Troypay Story_

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical. Or the songs mentioned in this chapter. :( But I do own the plot. :).

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A Note To My Reviewers:

marri- Trust me, the karaoke is going to be very involved in this chapter.

Chesom549- I know! Aren't the Beatles so awesome?

kylie- Congrats. You're the only one who got it right.

F29DWNxluverx4- OMG, guess what? Because of you, I started watching Flight 29 Down on youtube, and now I'm HOOKED!

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A/N: Hey guys, I just wanted to let you know that this is the second-to-last chapter, and that I'm planning a sequel...

((Troy's POV))

When I was getting ready, my dad came into my room and sat down on my bed. "So... I'm assuming you really like your date. I've never seen you dress up like that for anybody, or anything," he said, "Maybe my first impression of Gabriella was wrong, so I'll let you slide. But no more getting into trouble with her, you understand?"

I sighed and looked at my dad. "I'm not going with Gabby, Dad," I told him.

"You're not?" he asked, sounding slightly relieved.

"No, I'm not. I'm going with Sharpay," I explained.

"Oh, the Evans girl. You know, I've always liked her. She's an exceptional gym student."

"I think it's because of all the working out Darbus makes us do during rehearsals. Seriously, some of our dances are really hard."

"Anyway," my dad said, "I just came in here to tell you that whoever your date is, you have your father's approval... I'm just glad it's not Gabriella."

I smiled at him, and he left the room. It took me forever to find a tie, and once I did, guess what happened. "Troy, your girlfriend's here!" my sister Casey called from downstairs.

"She's not my girlfriend!" I screamed at her.

I quickly finished tying my tie as I ran down the stairs to greet Sharpay. "I'm not?" she asked once I made it down.

"Well..."

Sharpay laughed. "You look so idiotic like that."

"Thank-you, m'lady," I said sarcastically, and led her out the door.

"We'll see you later," my mom yelled from the living room, and I muttered, "Uh-huh," before locking the door.

"Your sister's cute," Sharpay told me during the drive.

"You only say that because you don't have to live with her. Casey is an eight year old version of the devil," I said, "That girlfriend thing... let's just say it's one of the milder things she does to embarrass me."

"I'm sure she can't be that bad," Shar said.

"I'm sure she can!" I argued.

Sharpay raised her hands in mock defeat. "Whatever you say, Bolton... whatever you say."

((Sharpay's POV))

"Hey! Good job on the play," Gabriella said, running up to us, "Anyway, you know how I was in charge of the after party activities? Because I can't be in the play, and stuff? Well, I just wanted to let you know- THERE'S GOING TO BE A KARAOKE MACHINE! So get ready to sing!"

"Sounds awesome," Troy told her.

"I nodded, and Gabriella left to got tell other people the 'good news.' After being congratulated by several more people, Troy and I walked hand in hand to the gym, where the after party was taking place. "Are you going to sing?" he asked me.

"Probably," I answered.

Maybe I'll be able to tell him how I feel through a song. Yeah, that's right. I love him. Too bad I don't know how he feels. "I won't. My lungs are all tired out," Troy said, "I still can't believe Kelsi double timed the play."

"Yeah," I sighed.

I was too lost in thought to give him a real response. I wonder what songs I can use. A Thousand Miles? No. Not good enough... "Are you okay?" Troy asked, turning me to look me in the eyes.

We were now in front of the double doors leading to the gym. "Yeah," I told him, "I'm just thinking about things."

"Oh," he muttered.

There was an awkward silence between us. So awkward I felt like I just had to break it. But what to say? "Do you love me, Troy?" I suddenly blurted out.

Oh, shit. That was not supposed to happen. He's not saying anything. I tried reading his facial expressions, but I got nothing. Finally, after about two minutes, Troy opened his mouth. "Yes, Shar, I do."

I let out a sigh of relief. "That's good," I smiled at him, "because I do too."

We walked into the gym together, and I immediately ran towards the karaoke sign up sheet. I sang a few songs, and after every song Gabriella performed. It's like she's trying to out-sing me, or something. After a while, Chad and Taylor performed a duet, but then Gabriella sang again. She sang 'Girlfriend', by Avril Lavigne. Like it's not obvious whom she's singing about... I bid adieu to Troy, and went to talk to Ryan. I feel so sorry for him, because of the whole Rosa/Lorraine thing. "Hey, Ry."

"Oh, hi, Sharpay," he said, "Shouldn't you be with Troy?"

"I should, but you looked lonely over here, so I decided I should come talk to you," I said.

"Cool. So what's up with you and Gabby? You guys look like you're competing..."

"I'm not, she is. I don't get what her problem is. Anyway, aren't you going to sing anything? You sound much better than she does."

"Eh, I don't feel like it. Oh, hey, look, Jason and Kelsi are kissing!"

"Don't try to change the subject, Ry! Is this about Lorraine?"

"No way! I'm over her... it's about Gabby."

"Ugh, Ryan, not this again! Why don't you just ask her out already, and get it over with?"

Suddenly, Gabriella stopped singing. That's weird. It's not the end of the song yet. I heard several people gasp, and decided to see what the fuss is about. I turned around and saw Gabriella and Troy pressed up against one another, kissing. "That's why," Ryan said weakly.

And for the second time since Gabriella joined our school, I turned, and ran.

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A/N: Just warning you now, for the sequel, I'm going to ask for five reviews per chapter. You better get used to it!

A/N#2: Dun dun dun... DRAMA!


	18. Okay

**Once Upon A Love**

_A Troypay Story_

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical. Or 'Say OK.' Or 'Geek in the Pink.' :( But I do own the plot. :).

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A Note To My Reviewers:

marri- I don't know... I have been getting at least three reviews per chapter for this story, and it will only be two more...

Chesom549- Lol. Hussy.

muahahahahagirl- Because I said so!

F29DWNxluverx4- Poor you... oh well. If you write cliffies, you're going to have to learn to deal with them.

FelineMimiDavis74- That makes two of us.

XxXxIcePrincessXxXx- I know, isn't she?

sPazZii chIc- Suit yourself.

marianne Reznik- There's more, but just this chapter.

sammysgurl- Is this soon enough?

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A/N: This chapter is dedicated to all my reviewers. Without you guys I wouldn't have confidence in my writing. Especially, I'd like to single out xamyxjx for being my first reviewer, marri for sticking with me 'til the end, Chesom549 who reviewed random chapters from the beginning to here, LovesNature who edited all the chapters before I posted them, and F29DWNxluverx4 who, although she (at least I think it's a she...) started reading towards the end of the story, said she loves it, even though she ships Troyella... Now there's an accomplishment! You know what else is an accomplishment? I wrote the first song in this chapter, so review, and tell me what you think!

((Troy's POV))

I ran down the hallway looking for Sharpay. I figured she would be in the bathroom, like she was last time Gabriella did something. Leave it to Gabriella to mess everything up. I slowed down when I heard sounds of a piano coming from the music room. The door was slightly open, so I snuck in. Once she finalized the melody, Sharpay started singing.

_I never thought_

_that you would do this_

_to me,_

_but now I see._

_I should expect the unexpected,_

_and keep my heart protected_

_from this._

_Cuz I never had a heart break like this._

_Never had a headache like this._

_And it feels so wrong,_

_but I have to stay strong._

_Because the truth is-_

_even though you did this_

_to me,_

_it's you I miss._

_So maybe she really kissed you,_

_but you didn't pull away._

_You decided to stay,_

_and kiss her back_

_I never had a heartbreak like this._

_Never had a headache like this._

_And it feels so wrong,_

_but I have to stay strong._

_Because the truth is-_

_even though you did this_

_to me,_

_it's you I miss._

_Save your apologies._

_Save your, "I'm sorry."_

_Cuz I won't believe_

_any thing you try to tell me._

_I saw what I saw,_

_and I'll admit it came as a shock._

_It hurts me to say_

_I'm not over you..._

_But I can't help the truth._

_Cuz I never had a heart break like this._

_Never had a headache like this._

_And it feels so wrong,_

_but I have to stay strong._

_Because the truth is-_

_even though you did this_

_to me,_

_it's you I miss._

_Your beautiful blue eyes,_

_and your soft kiss._

_It's you I miss._

When she played the last note, I sucked up some courage, and started clapping. Shar turned around, and glared at me. "So you miss me already, and we're not even broken up?" I chuckled.

"Well, that's probably what you're here to do now, isn't it, Bolton?" she asked.

"Shar, it's not what it looked like, I swear!"

"Let me guess," she sneered, "She kissed you, and you were so shocked that you couldn't think straight for a second, and if I had stayed a millisecond longer, I would have seen you push her away?"

I scratched the back of my head. "Well, yeah."

"That is so like you, Bolton! That's the lamest excuse in the book, everybody uses it in stories, and movies, and TV shows, and such!" Sharpay yelled.

She got me there... but wait! I can use this to my advantage. "And in the stories, movies, TV shows, and such, who's right? Isn't the person who said that usually telling the truth?" I asked her.

Sharpay looked stumped. I guess she was trying to come up with a good comeback. In the end, she sighed. "You mean it?" she asked.

I nodded. Sharpay smiled, then proceeded to squeeze the life out of me. "Shar?" I asked, "We'd better get back. It's your turn to sing, and I don't know how long your brother will be able to stall."

She let go of me, and we laughed when we heard 'Geek in the Pink' coming from the gym.

((Sharpay's POV))

When I marched into the gym, it was like a movie. Everything stopped, and everybody turned to look at me. I made my way through the crowd, (with everybody's eyes still on me...) and stopped when I found Gabriella. "You really think you can break me and Troy up," I spat in her face, "Well, think again."

"It's not my fault you're so desperate you'll go out with somebody that cheated on you," she shrugged.

"He didn't cheat on me, Gabriella. I know exactly what you did, and don't try to deny it. I trust Troy."

"Is that so? Well. Don't come crying to me when you find him behind the bleachers with Suzy," she laughed.

"We don't have a 'Suzy' at our school," I pointed out.

"I meant Lucy."

I shook my head. "We don't have one of those, either."

Gabriella bit her lip. "Anyway, even if you managed to break me and Troy up, what would you have done? He doesn't like you like that, and you know it," I continued, "It's time to face the facts."

And with that, I slapped her so hard that the sound echoed all around the room. (A/N: I believe it was Zashleyrocks and Zanessa sucks that wanted a slap after the third chapter... well, it's a bit late, but this one was for you!) I could hear people clapping behind me. I walked up on stage, talked to the D.J., and started to sing. After what had just happened, I felt that the song was appropriate. I don't know why, I just felt it.

So tell me when it's not alright  
When it's not OK  
Will you try to make me feel better?  
Will you say alright? (say alright)  
Will you say OK? (Say OK)  
Will you stick with me through whatever?  
Or run away  
(Say that it's gonna be alright. That it's gonna be OK)  
Say OK.

When you call I don't know if I should pick up the phone every time  
I'm not like all my friends who keep calling up the boys, I'm so shy  
But I don't want to be into you  
If you don't treat me the right way  
See I can only start seeing you  
If you can make my heart feel safe (feel safe)

When it's not alright  
When it's not OK  
Will you try to make me feel better?  
Will you say alright? (say alright)  
Will you say OK? (Say OK)  
Will you stick with me through whatever?  
Or run away  
(Say that it's gonna be alright. That it's gonna be OK  
Don't run away, don't run away)

Let me know if it's gonna be you  
Boy, you've got some things to prove  
Let me know that you'll keep me safe  
I don't want you to run away so  
Let me know that you'll call on time  
Let me know that you'll help me shine  
Will you wipe my tears away  
Will you hold me close and say

I got off the stage, and ran to hug Troy. He hugged me back, and whispered a single word in my ear. It was amazing how one word could tell me everything about how he felt. Ever heard the saying 'a picture is worth a thousand words'? Well this word was probably worth a thousand pictures. I guess you're wondering what that word was, huh? The one word that Troy Bolton whispered to me, that made me feel on top of the world, was a word you probably use daily. That word was, "Okay."

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A/N: If you guys want a sequel, I expect at least five reviews telling me so.

A/N#2: I cried. I cried when I wrote the last word. I can't believe this story is over...


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